


Scandal of the Year

by annalulz



Series: In Time [1]
Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Jumin Han's Route, M/M, Mutual Pining, Route Mash Up, Slow Burn, Zen | Hyun Ryu's Route, mc has a name
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-11-01 21:23:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10930308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annalulz/pseuds/annalulz
Summary: One, accused of sexual harassment. The other, forced to marry a woman he doesn't even know.An actor and a CEO find solace in each other at the most unexpected of times.





	Scandal of the Year

 

 

Zen sits against the fence, arms over his head, his knees pulled up to his chest where his face rests as a tear rolls down his cheek as he remembers the disastrous interview.

It was a blur of rapid-fire questions, fumbled answers, and sweaty hands.  He wishes now that he had listened to Jaehee and had prepared better. He had believed that being honest and earnest in his answers would be enough to have the reporters and public believe him, but he hadn't counted on the vulture-like attitude his interviewers would take, or how oppressive the television set would feel, how judging the camera lenses would seem.

In the end, he had ruined his only chance to vindicate his reputation and salvage his career.

He barely remembers how he'd left the television studio, turning off his phone as he went. It had started beeping the second the cameras turned off to go to commercials. He expected his name would be trending on all the popular search engines when he agreed to give the interview, but his idea was different to how it turned out. He was dragged through the mud instead of being hailed as the unsuspecting victim of an attention seeking girl.

A pitiful sob escapes his lips as he buries his face in his knees, wishing the earth would open up and swallow him whole. Hoping beyond hope that it was a nightmare and he'd wake up soon.

“You look incredibly pathetic,” a deep voice says above his head and he snaps up to look at its owner.

Jumin Han stands a few feet away from him, a serious and worried expression marring his handsome features.

“What the fuck do you want, Trust Fund Jerk?” he spits at the corporate heir, turning his gaze away from the man.

“Assis—Miss Kang and Assistant Kim are worried about you. Given that I am apparently the only one who knows of this place I was appointed by them to come find you.”

“Go away! I don't need your help!” Zen yells at Jumin, wiping his face with his sleeve.

“Considering you have very few people who still believe in you, I think it's unwise to turn me away,” Jumin says, and there's something about his tone that tells Zen he's talking about more than the interview.

“What do you mean?” he asks with narrowed, red eyes.

“Your manager had been trying to reach you but your phone seems to be turned off, so he called Miss Chaerin and gave her a message.”

Zen immediately takes his phone from his pocket and turns it on. As soon as his home screen is visible an onslaught of notifications fill his sight. Missed calls from the RFA members and his manager, voice mails, emails, tweets… Feeling overwhelmed, he taps on the voicemail notification with dread.

The voice of his manager fills his ear as he tells him his agency is rescinding his contract. They’re washing off their hands from the scandal, claiming they cut him off when it became public and not as a result of the interview. They are leaving him to fend for himself for acting on his own without consulting with them first. This means the probability of losing the few roles he still had managed to land has become even higher. His heart falls to his feet like a ball of lead as his manager gives him a half-hearted apology and ends the call.

“They cancelled my contract,” he tells Jumin, though he assumes the man already knows.

“Yes, Miss Chaerin said something about that when she called me, she sounded quite hysteric over the phone, although I assume knowing she’s been living with a bomb also has something to do with it,” Jumin says calmly as he offers Zen a hand.

Zen is in the middle of taking the offered hand, barely thinking about the person offering it, when the word “bomb” reaches his ears and he shoots up from the floor, sending a cloud of dirt flying around.

“WHAT?” he yells, tightening his grip on Jumin’s hand. “What do you mean ‘bomb’?”

“While you were giving your interview, the hacker came into Rika’s apartment. Somehow Luciel felt something was wrong so he managed to get there in time but… well, he revealed the special security was a bomb Rika had asked him to install there.”

“Why didn’t you say that sooner! Come on, we have to go help her! She must be terrified! I can’t believe—”

“Calm down, Zen. Luciel is with her. There’s no one better to keep her safe at the moment.”

“But—”

“Worry about yourself for now, there’s nothing you can do for her at the moment.”

“I don’t even know what to do about myself. My career is ruined. I don’t even have an agency.”

Jumin remains silent for a moment, a thoughtful look on his face. Zen is about to tell him to stop being so quiet when he speaks again.

“I know you don’t particularly approve of my offering of help but we… well, I mean, _my father_ has recently acquired a tea cup company to please his newest girlfriend and you could be its image and model for it,” Jumin says, fidgeting with the cuffs of his shirt.

A startling realization hits Zen as he watches Jumin fidget.

 _He’s nervous,_ he thinks, marveling at the thought. _He’s nervous and uncomfortable about asking me this._

“Won’t that affect your company’s image after today’s disaster?” he says, just for the sake of argument.

“We do have the best lawyers in the country, Zen. This issue is nothing we can’t fix.”

_There he goes again, talking about money, he sounds just like my brother… he’s still fidgeting with his cuffs, why is he still fidgeting with his cuffs? Why?_

“I—I don’t have an agency?”

“Easily solvable.”

_He’s still fidgeting. Why? Why? What is wrong with him? Why does it bother me that he’s uncomfortable? Why?_

“You… okay. But not the teacup commercial.”

“What do you mean?”

“You were talking about a cat food project in the messenger the other day, right? Weren’t you trying to convince Chaerin to come see me to get me to do it before she totally refused to do it?” Zen braces himself for what he’s about to say next, hoping he won’t regret it later.

“Aren’t you allergic?” Jumin asks, finally dropping his cuffs and looks at Zen, puzzled.

“I’m willing to take the risk. I’ll do the cat food commercial. But only after this mess with the hacker has been cleared, got it?”

“I suppose it’s the best I can get,” Jumin says with  a relieved sigh.

They leave together in Jumin’s car after the corporate heir assures him his bike will be taken care of (“I swear if there’s a single scratch on it, I’ll kill you, Trust Fund.”).

That night, Zen finds himself back in his apartment, with the hope that his career might not be completely lost and with a new light shining on Jumin Han in his mind.

 

 


End file.
